FEDERAL INCENTIVES

STATE INCENTIVES

LOCAL INCENTIVES

Incumbent Worker Training (IWT)

The Incumbent Worker Training Program is funded by the Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and administered by Workforce Florida. Through this program, Florida is able to provide training to currently employed workers to keep Florida’s workforce competitive in a global economy and to retain existing businesses.

Eligibility
The program is open to all Florida businesses that have been in operation for a minimum of one year prior to the application date and require training for existing employees. Businesses must:

have at least one full-time employee

demonstrate financial viability

be current on all state tax obligations; and

provide a matching contribution to the training project.

Reimbursable training expenses include:

instructors’/trainers’ salaries

curriculum development

textbooks/manuals, materials and supplies.

Training services can be provided through Florida’s community colleges, school districts, area vocational-technical centers, state universities, licensed and certified post secondary private institutions and from subject matter experts, consultants, or trainers from the business. Training can be conducted at the business’s own facility, at the training provider’s facility or at a combination of sites.

Approved training costs are disbursed to the training provider based on monthly or quarterly reimbursement requests with required documentation.

Foreign-Trade Zones

Of all the benefits the Foreign-Trade Zones program can offer manufacturers and processors located in the United States there are a few main benefits that account for most of the companies that use the Zones program. Those benefits are listed below:

Relief from inverted tariffs—In certain instances, there are tariff (import duty) relationships that actually penalize companies for making their product in the United States. When a component item or raw material carries a higher duty rate than a finished product. The finished product pays a lower duty rate than a manufacturer of the same product in the United States. Giving the importer an unfair and unintended advantage over the domestic manufacturer. The Foreign-Trade Zones program addresses this issue.

FOR EXAMPLE: A Foreign-Trade Zone user imports a motor (which carries a 4% duty rate) and uses it in the manufacture of a vacuum cleaner (which is free of duty). When the vacuum cleaner leaves the FTZ and enters the commerce of the U.S., the duty rate on the motor drops from the 4% motor rate to the free vacuum cleaner rate.

By participating in the Zones program, the vacuum cleaner manufacturer has virtually eliminated duty on this component, and therefore reduced the component cost by 4%. (Provided by foreign-trade-zone.com)

Duty exemption on re-exports—When foreign merchandise is brought into a Foreign-Trade Zone, no Customs duty is owed until the merchandise leaves the zone and enters the commerce of the United States. Only then is the duty paid. If the imported merchandise is exported back out of the country, no Customs duty is ever due.

Duty elimination on waste, scrap, and yield loss—When a processor or manufacturer is conducting its operations within a zone, the merchandise is not considered imported, and therefore no duty is owed until it leaves the zone for shipment into the United States.

Weekly Entry Savings— Under Weekly Entry procedures, the zone user files only one Customs Entry per week, rather than filing one Customs Entry per shipment.

Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund (QTI)

The Qualified Target Industry (QTI) Tax Refund is a tool available to Florida communities to encourage quality job growth in targeted high value-added businesses.
Pre-approved applicants who create jobs in Florida receive tax refunds of $3,000 per net new full-time equivalent Florida job created, $4800 in an Enterprise Zone or Rural County (like Flagler County). For businesses paying 150% of the average annual wage, add $800 per job. New or expanding businesses in selected targeted industries or corporate headquarters are eligible.

Quick Response Training (QRT)

Quick Response Training (QRT) is a customer-driven training program designed as an inducement to secure new value-added businesses to Florida as well as provide existing businesses the necessary training for expansion. Through this incentive, Florida is able to effectively retain, expand and attract employers offering high-quality jobs. The program is flexible and structured to respond quickly to meeting business-training objectives. Workforce Florida, Inc., the state’s public-private partnership created to coordinate job training efforts, administers the program.

Rural Job Tax Credit (RJTC)

A Rural Job Tax Credit is an incentive for eligible businesses located in one of Florida’s 33 rural counties to create new jobs. The tax credit provides for $1,000 per qualified job and can only be taken against either the Florida Corporate Income Tax or the Florida Sales and Use Tax. Five million dollars of tax credits may be approved in a calendar year.
These tax credits are provided to encourage meaningful employment opportunities that will improve the quality of life of those employed and to encourage economic expansion of new and existing businesses in rural areas of Florida.

In addition to the incentives available through the State of Florida, Flagler County offers an incentive based on the amount of jobs created by new or expanding businesses. New or retained jobs must pay a minimum, on average, 100%, or more, of the most recently published average annual wage for private industries in Flagler County. An established business relocating to Flagler County must create a minimum of ten jobs within two years and an existing business must create, or retain, a minimum of five jobs within one year.

Target businesses and industries eligible to receive awards:

Manufacturing (NAICS Codes 331-339)

Transportation and warehousing (NAICS Codes 481-493)

Wholesale trade (NAICS Codes 421-422)

Retail trade (NAICS Codes 441-454)

Information and data processing services (NAICS Codes 514)

Other professional services

Corporate/regional/division headquarters

Research and development facilities

Other industry groups, uses or activities not listed above, which achieve the purpose or intent of the program.

Additional incentives include:

On the Job Training (OJT)

Businesses and organizations can benefit from this program, which helps employers fund training for existing employees to keep their firms and workers competitive.

This program assists businesses and organizations in imparting skills and credentials to a new employee. Once the employee completes training per the terms of the Training Contract, the employer may be reimbursed 50 percent of the employee’s wages for the approved training period.

Tax Abatement

Flagler County, Palm Coast, and Bunnell can offer your company a tax abatement incentive. Contact us to see if your company qualifies.

Flagler Economic Enhancement Districts (FEED)

In 2010, working with the Board of County Commission, Flagler Department of Economic Opportunity led a community effort to create an economic enhancement district through the State of Florida’s Brownfield program. These districts are located throughout the County and offers job creation incentives for targeted industries. Potential incentives start $2,000 per job created. (Minimal job creation to receive incentive is 10 new jobs to Florida).